Last winter, it was unusually mild, followed by the warmest March that we had since 1948. Already in the second week of March, temperatures exceeded 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit). Thus the budbreak was very early. In the beginning of June, flowering went perfectly.

The large amount of grape clusters and their positive development raised hopes; particularly because of the low yields that we had the previous vintages.

Until the beginning of August, the vegetation was about four weeks ahead of a normal year, and we expected a very early start to the harvest. But August turned out to be rather cool and rainy. Thus the vegetation was curbed and the flavor development of the Riesling grapes profited from the cooler temperatures.

In early October, heavy rainfalls and warm humid weather quickly accelerated the maturity of the grapes.

So we started harvesting on October 4. From the beginning, we had to carefully select the grapes. And again we were glad to have our loyal and highly skilled team of pickers, as the harvest was a great challenge.

The expected yield was greatly reduced due to the necessary and strict selection of the grapes. Tasting the young wines now shows that all the effort was worth it!

The long vegetation period led to a detailed development of the aromas and a good maturity of the grapes. As a result, we can be very delighted about our delicately, fruity, fine, and brisk Rieslings.

Above all, we were able to produce our basic estate- and village-level wines, as well as fruity Kabinetts. Grapes for Spätlese and especially Auslese were rare.
This vintage is a welcome variation to the previous years, and so we can offer you once again, Mosel Rieslings “for every day”!

Weingut Willi Schaefer, March 2015